


Love Alchemist

by holdinglines



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-17 02:41:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13067421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdinglines/pseuds/holdinglines
Summary: a two bit teaser from tumblr that I thought deserved to be here with the rest of my works.





	1. Chapter 1

_Seven billion people and not enough cherubs._ **  
**

 The Cupid sat patiently, watching the clock tick as their latest appointment woke up.  The Cupid had been working in this neighborhood for almost three months and finally their planning and waiting was about to pay off.  They slipped the kids phone between the couch cushions, putting a sigil for it to pop back out in about twelve minutes; then to the kitchen to open the blinds and draw another sigil.  The symbol glowed in the air for a moment before moving towards the house next door and fading.

 A noise upstairs.  They’re awake.  The Cupid leaned against the kitchen counter and waited.

 Down the stairs came a disheveled and sleepy looking adult. _Not a child, but just on the cusp of adulthood and already waiting to die._

 The Cupid waited.

 Isabel Rodriguez, 22, was looking for their phone.  They began pacing up and down until a noise outside forced them to stop.  Peeking out the window, they saw their neighbors, a young couple, walking their two year old outside and playing in the garden.  One of the mothers noticed Isabel and waved.

_C'mon Isabel._

 But she closed the blinds and ran into the living room.  They clutched onto one of the pillows and buried their face into it.

 Eight more minutes.  The Cupid phased through the door and drew another symbol.

 A moment later a man with a package arrived and knocked on the door.  Between him leaving and opening the door the Cupid moved the package towards the edge of the steps.  When they opened the door, they had to step out into the sunlight to grab their order, and that’s when the symbol on the door began to glow.

_It’s nice outside for once.  Cool enough for a walk._

 This was the tricky part.  Nothing but suggestions and moving things around, but at the end of the day a cherub couldn’t actually force a human to do anything.  If things didn’t develop naturally enough then it wouldn’t follow through.  She knew from experience.

 It looked like it wasn’t enough.  Isabel shook their head and went back inside.  Putting the package down, they went back into the kitchen to get something to eat.  The Cupid had a sudden idea and dashed passed them and covered the microwave clock.

 Isabel stared into the fridge, plenty of food but all of it took more effort than they could spare, before closing it.

_There’s a Dairy Queen just a block away.  You have money and it’s quick.  No one you know is there._

 Isabel sat on the kitchen floor for a while, staring at nothing, but eventually hunger won out.  They found some pants and some shoes, grabbing their keys and marched out the door.

 Three more minutes

_There’s more trees, and more shade, if you go left.  Highway and noisy cars and probably people if you go right._

 Isabel went left.

 For the first time in almost two months, Isabel felt the sun on their face.  They got to see the sun filtered through the leaves and breath fresh air.  When they put on their headphones the Cupid used a little magic to mess with the shuffle of their music.  Chances of them skipping until they found whatever music they wanted was high, but it didn’t hurt to at least try.  And they needed to wait a few more minutes.

 Isabel stopped.  Between them and the Dairy Queen was a school, and they hadn’t noticed that it was around time for school to be let out.  They clutched their mp3 and made a sharp turn around.  The Cupid yanked one of the ear buds out.

 At that moment Isabel saw three kids by a sewer grate, one of them on the ground and leaning dangerous far into it.

 “What the hell you doing?!” they ran and pulled them out just as they were about to fall.  “What were you thinking, kid?  You coulda gotten hurt.”

 The little girl wrenched out of their grip, rubbing their arm and looking away.  None of her friends would look at them either.

 “Well?” then they heard it.  A soft, pitiful sounding mewing coming from the sewer drain.  Isabel crouched down and saw a kitten in there.

 “Oh…”

 The girl - Masami, twelve- sniffed.  “We, we just wanna help it is all.”

 Isabel sat there frozen, guilt settling in their stomach.  They felt like they were gonna throw up, they just grabbed a kid, a stranger who was just trying to do a good thing.  They felt gross, they probably looked gross, oh god why did they leave their house this was such a bad idea–

_The Cupid stroked their head.  It’s ok, you still tried to help.  That’s a good thing._

 One of the kids -Kiri, nine- sat down next to Isabel and rubbed their back.  “Hey, ‘s’okay, you didn’t know.  Mimi’s just embarrassed, that’s all.”

 Isabel gave her a shaky smile.  And they actually started to talk.  The kids had seen the kitty this morning and were planning on sharing it.  They’d take turns taking care of it and it’d go to each of their houses.  Isabel told them that if it’s still there it might be for a reason and had them move a little ways away from the sewer drain.  Sure enough, they watched a grey tabby dart out of a bush and slink into it.

 “That must be its mother,” Isabel said.

 The kids visibly deflated.

 Isabel rubbed the back of their neck.  “Look, um, y’know…I live just a block away from here and, uhm…what I’m tryna say is I had a cat for a while.”

 Mimi looked up at them suspiciously.  “Whatdya mean ‘for a while’?”

 “Well they’re dead ya lil’ punk.”

 Kiri and their other friend (Shauna, twelve) giggled.

 “Look, what I’m tryna get at is that we still got his old dish and some food.  I’m not using it anymore, so…” they shrugged.  “How about you guys look after ‘em?  Make sure they get clean water and food twice a day an’ all that.”

 All three of their eyes went as wide as saucers.

 “You’d really do that?” Kiri asked.

 “What’s the catch?” Mimi asked.

 “The catch is that you gotta  _promise_ not ‘ta try an’ pet them again.  They’re wild cats, and you could get sick if they scratched or bit you.” They tapped their chin before adding, “And you have to do it  _every day._   Like I said, they’re wild and don’t understand things like kids getting bored.”

 “What, cats don’t get bored?” Mimi scoffed.

_Oh please pull their cheeks._

 But Isabel showed more restraint and only glared at her.  “If you decide to feed them, they’ll be dependent on you for food.  If you get bored and stop, they won’t understand why.  And they could get aggressive with you.”

 That quieted them down a bit.  Shauna, who hadn’t taken her eyes off of Isabel since they started speaking, nodded seriously.

 “I’ll do it.  Will you be here to give us the food.”

 “Is that ok?”

 She nodded again.

 “Well, ok then.  Be right back.”

 Isabel dashed with more energy than they expected back to their place, frantically searching for Salazar’s old water and food dish, and thank god it was on top of the food bag, so they’ll just grab that, and oh maybe they’ll want some books on cats maybe they should grab some of their old books–?

 “Where you going with all that stuff?”

 Isabel looked up.  They were desperately trying to balance all the stuff on their knee and arms while trying to also lock the front door and happened to grab their neighbor’s attention.

 “Um, some kids are taking care of a, uh uh uhm…they found a cat.” they looked down.

 She clapped her hands together.  “Oh that’s so wonderful!  Did they just get them.”

 “It’s a stray.”

 “Oh, well-”

 “I”m sorry I gotta go.”

 “O-oh, ok then we–”

 Isabel dashed off, their face burning and wanting to cry.  They couldn’t believe how rude they were what even was that?  They were just being polite and they brushed them off like an awful person.

 They slowed down and took a deep breath.  They didn’t want the kids to see them upset.  The Cupid touched their shoulder in sympathy.

_You care so much about other people and their feelings.  It’s an admirable quality and nothing to be ashamed of._

 To their relief, the kids were still there.

 By the time they’d set up food and clean water in the dishes, the kids parents were there to pick them up.  Isabel introduced themselves and explained the situation, giving the parents their address and phone number.  All the kids, even Mimi, waved goodbye to them.

 “Well,” Isabel muttered.  “Guess I have to get up early now.”

_Success._

 

* * *

 

 Over the next few weeks, Isabel got up at 7:30 every morning and every afternoon to feed the cats and chat with the trio.  They told Isabel all about their classes, Shauna asked them all sorts of questions about Salazar and what being a grownup was like, Mimi talked all about their AP classes and showed off her magic kit, and Kiri devoured every book like a starving man.  Isabel never particularly cared for kids, but they remembered how quiet and alone they were as a kid.  And it didn’t matter to them if they wanted to talk to them about moss or dung beetles or whatever, they were going to be involved and make them feel good about their interests dammit.

 After seeing them off in the morning, Isabel got into the habit of walking around the neighborhood.  It was cooler in the morning, and a lot less people.

 Two days after they first started meeting with the kids, Isabel wrote an apology letter and put it in their neighbor’s mail slot.  It didn’t excuse their rudeness, but it felt right.  The very next day They got a letter asking if they’d like to join them for dinner.  Isabel never turned down free food, even if it came from an anxiety prone place.

 After that, Isabel started getting work.  The kids absolutely adored them, and eventually the parents did too.  They asked them to watch the kids, and the neighbors asked them to house sit on occasion.  They learned how to watch babies too, and how to cook, which Isabel grew to love.

 The Cupid flipped through their book to check on the kids.  Mimi was getting validation for her magic tricks; Shauna felt responsible for something, and this maturity was opening doors with her parents; Kiri had found a surrogate sibling in Isabel.  That influence and kindness was going to go far.

 The Cupid’s mouth twitched.  It wasn’t a lot, and it wasn’t going to make everything in all of their lives better, but it was a start.  Laying the foundation was all they could do for now.

_Seven billion people and not enough cherubs._

 But that was the beauty of humanity.  A small nudge and the right circumstances, and they could do both wondrous and terrible things all on their own.  That’s all She could hope for.

 The Cupid pocketed their notebook and went to the next on their list.


	2. Chapter 2

 Being a cupid had it’s ups and downs, but being in a crowded place was the absolute pits.  Everything was always so _sharp,_  and it affected the wrong senses.  Sounds grated against the Cupid’s skin, getting underneath and somehow rubbing them raw; voices clamouring over each other, whirring machines, car horns beeping, computers and phones and lights ringing; the scratchy material of being Real (no matter how often they lived in this realm, having clothes and a body always felt a tad restrictive) made the Cupid claustrophobic; the lights were too bright but the blasting AC made it feel too cold and it was  _wrong_ because the lights were so bright they could almost see the dust particles in the air, and every time they forgot to blink (which was often, damn these bodies and their incessant needs) they inadvertently cried.   
 But the absolute worst were the Possibilities.  Every project was a part of the Collective, and every person the project came into contact with as well.  Isabel, the school children, their parents, the people here in this Dairy Queen, all of them were this Cupid’s current project.  And all their thoughts and possible actions bombarded the Cupid and left them blind.

  The cashier for example could do the kindest thing they’ll do all week and better themselves without the Cupid even getting up or she could do nothing or sneer and cave into the pressure of their coworkers or a half dozen other things, and most of those depended on the actions of a hundred other people and the Cupid could hear them all:  
 _I need this, I want this, I could do this if that weren’t in the way, I want I want I want I need I feel I lost I need I want–_  
 The Cupid took a deep breath and tightened their grip on their cup.  Focus.  Block out the noise, don’t Fade away, stay in the present and block it all out.  You need to wait.  This is an important meeting.  
 As the Cupid buried its face deeper into their scarf, a crinkle-tinkling noise on the DQ’s intercom interrupted the smooth singing of jazzy sounds of the Mills Brothers. _  
HOLY CHERUB, AVATAR OF EROS.  THIS IS YOUR BOSS SPEAKING._  
 Instinctively the Cupid glanced around, but nobody else paid any attention to the interruption.  They pried one of their hands off of their cup and put it up to their ear, so any interested human would think they were on a call.  Though that was far more interest than anyone would ever have here.  
 “Yes.” _  
IT IS TIME._  
 Something was strangely nostalgic about being yelled from their supervisors from an undefinable place, and the Cupid felt themselves begin to relax.  
 “And?”  _  
IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO MOVE ONTO YOUR NEXT PROJECT._  
 “No,” They sipped their water.  “I refuse.” _  
YOU CANNOT REFUSE YOUR DESTINY.  WE ARE A DYING RACE, YOU MUST COMPLY._  
 “No.”  The damn ‘we are dying please do as I say’ card hadn’t worked on them in over a millennia and wouldn’t work now.  They knew this area, and even if it was agonizingly slow, they could feel the lives of the people they’d been working on improving.  They would not abandon them now. _  
THIS IS NOT A REQUEST.  YOU MUST LEAVE._  
 “Why?” _  
WE ARE DYING, CHERUB.  TIMES MUST CHANGE, AND YOU MUST CONTINUE WITH THE GREAT PLAN._  
 The Cupid’s brow furrowed.  “What?” _  
WE CANNOT INTERFERE AS DIRECTLY AS WE ONCE WERE, AND, AS WE ARE TOO FEW IN NUMBERS, WE CONSPIRE IN THE SHADOWS.  WE WILL WORK AS ONE ENTITY, ONE CHERUB._  
 The Cupid paused and tried to understand what they before they slowly spoke.  “This is a…long term plan?” _  
INDEED.  ONE IN THE WORKS FOR MANY CENTURIES._  
  _“What?”_  
YOU WILL GO TO THE PREVIOUS CHERUB’S PROJECT AND CONTINUE WHERE THEY LEFT OFF.  DO NOT FAIL US, CHERUB, THE BALANCE OF FATE RESTS IN YOU.  
 Before the Cupid could respond, the Mills Brothers were back, and they were singing those St. Louis Blues.  
 The Cupid blessed under its breath, drumming its fingernails on the linoleum top of the table.  They didn’t want to leave this project, they didn’t particularly care one way or another what happened, so long as humanity was happy and improving.  And, in their holy and humble opinion, it was.  
 But apparently their superiors didn’t think so, and instead of getting a better PR manager they’d settle for meddling in something too big for their small independent work.  
 “Another cherub’s project,” they muttered.  Despite instinctively knowing how many cherubs there were on the planet, none had ever met.  Sometimes there’d be hints that a Cupid had influenced a particular person or had changed a town in the past, some even had a “signature”, but never actually meeting.  
 Their tinted glasses slopped down their nose, and the Cupid glanced down at the napkin their drink had somehow moved off of.  In the center of the napkin, surrounded by a wet halo, was the word ‘Hyuga’.  
 The Cupid groaned but grabbed the napkin, picked up their cane and got up.  
 As they moved towards the door they heard a breathy and light voice say, “Let me get that for you” followed by the tinkle of the front door being opened.  
 “Thank you,” they said and offered a smile.  
 “Have a nice day, Miss Mora!”  
 In three steps the cashier who opened the door for her forgot why she had left her register unattended, in two steps everyone forgot about the blind woman who they occasionally saw in the neighborhood, and in one more step the Cupid was in Lunaris.


End file.
